QANTAS Empire Airways Short Empire S.23 flying boat, G-AEUF "Corinthian",
crashed while alighting on Darwin Harbour at about 1am on the morning of 22 March 1942 during a night flight
from Groote Eylandt where it had landed at 9:20pm the previous night. It was on a flight from Brisbane to Darwin
carrying fifteen members of the 102nd
Coastal Artillery Battalion.

The flying boat hit debris while landing and
sunk about two nautical miles from Doctors Gully. Captain Lewis Ambrose spent 5 months in hospital after this crash.

Captain Tapp re-entered the hull after the crash
searching for survivors. Two enlisted men of 102nd Coastal Artillery died in the
crash. Two members of 102nd Coast Artillery, Lt. Edward Hubbard and Pvt. Woodrow
Ravenscroft, were awarded the Soldier's Medal on 12 June 1942 for their efforts
to rescue other members of their unit following the crash. Captain Tapp received
a civilian award for his role in the crash.

At low tide the wrecked aircraft was sitting in
30 feet of water with its tail sticking up clear of the water. RAN divers were
secured to inspect the wreck of the aircraft in an attempt to salvage it.
However due to the aircraft being embedded in the mud and silt, and due to the
risks to divers should an air raid occur, salvage attempts were called off and
the wreckage was destroyed to clear the waterway for shipping and other flying
boats. This was achieved by HMAS Koala steaming over the position of the
aircraft. HMAS Koala drew 16 feet of water.

Three possible causes for the accident were:-

error in judgement

wreckage or trees in the harbour

Displacement of the heavy cargo of guns

On 13 March 1942, the 102nd
Coastal Artillery Battalion commenced a major air movement from Brisbane to
Darwin and by 8 April 1942, 31 officers, and 560 enlisted men and 49 only
.50" calibre machine guns, four units of fire and required field kitchen
and necessary equipment had been flown to Darwin. This was the first large scale
American airborne operation of the war and the first time an anti-aircraft unit
had flown into combat. The planes were piloted by American, Australian and Dutch
pilot using every available transport aircraft.

On 8 September 2004, Channel 9 in Darwin (NTD9)
ran a news story regarding some Darwin High School students who have been diving
in 30 metres of water on what they believe is the wreck of the
"Corinthian".

The students' instructor Sasha Muller, said the
20 metre wreck of the fuselage was covered in phenomenal coral growth and is the
same shape as the Corinthian. They alerted the harbour master of the wreck on
the 8 September 2004. They expect to carry out a full survey of the wreck over
the next few weeks. They are hoping to locate the wings and engines.